California Gaming Association responds to DOJ notice to cardroom industry

Kyle Kirkland, president of the California Gaming Association (CGA), issued the following statement in response to new game guidelines issued by the California Attorney General’s Bureau of Gambling Control earlier today:

"We are in receipt of the Bureau of Gambling Control’s Notification Regarding Rules of Games Featuring a Player-Dealer Position dated June 30, 2016. While we have not yet fully analyzed these new approval and enforcement practices, we are very concerned about the substantial adverse economic impact these changes will have on our industry’s ongoing operation. We are most concerned about the effect on the 23,000 jobs card rooms support throughout the state and the dozens of California communities that rely on the card room industry for valuable jobs and tax revenue, which may suffer as a result of these new policies.

"Throughout our industry’s history, California cardrooms have offered legal games compliant with the laws and regulations governing the industry and have only offered games that were fully vetted and approved by the Bureau of Gambling Control. For the past decade, our members have relied on the guidance and oversight from the Bureau in implementing lawful gaming activities and have invested millions of dollars in our communities to offer safe, high-quality entertainment to the public.